The Las Vegas Raiders‘ UDFA ledger isn’t just about overlooked talent. It exposes a deeper organizational rift that shaped years of roster decisions.
The numbers tell a story that goes beyond wasted signing bonuses. Of the five highest-paid undrafted free agents general manager John Spytek brought to Las Vegas in 2025, four are gone. Three are playing in the UFL. One is out of football entirely. Combined, those four players received $595,000 in guarantees. Only tight end Carter Runyon, who signed for $110,000, is still on the roster.
That’s not just a bad hit rate; it’s a larger picture worth examining.
UDFA classes are speculative by nature. No team expects every dart to land. So let’s get that out of the way. Still, this particular pattern, with Mello Dotson, Jah Joyner, Tank Booker and Jarrod Hufford all failing to survive training camp despite being paid like priority targets, points to something more specific than bad luck. It points to a disconnect between the front office that identified and paid for the talent and the coaching staff that was supposed to develop it.
What went wrong for the Raiders last year?
That disconnect has a name: Pete Carroll. By most accounts, Carroll showed little appetite for investing in unproven players, leaning instead on veterans he already trusted from past relationships. If that’s an accurate read, it would explain why a player like Joyner, considered a favorite to make the roster before camp even opened, never got a real chance to prove Spytek’s evaluation right.
Related: The overlooked genius of John Spytek’s Raiders rebuild
Undrafted rookies need reps and patience to turn potential into production. Take that away, and the outcome is decided before a single preseason snap.
This matters for how Spytek’s first year should be judged. Part of a general manager’s job is finding value in the margins, and undrafted free agency is one of the cheapest ways to do that. Spytek’s eye for talent may have been sound. Dotson and Joyner were both considered draftable players who slipped through the cracks.
However, identifying a good prospect and turning him into a contributor are two different jobs, and they require the front office and coaching staff to be pulling in the same direction. Without that alignment, even good evaluations turn into sunk costs.
The bigger question for Las Vegas heading into 2026 isn’t whether Spytek can find undrafted talent. Four of his five top signings were viewed as legitimate prospects, so the answer there seems clear. The real question is whether the next coaching staff will actually use what he finds. Runyon’s survival offers a small proof of concept. Given a genuine opportunity, at least one of these investments worked out. Whether that becomes the norm or stays the exception will say more about Spytek’s roster-building than any cut list ever could.
*Top Photo: Getty Images